Pre-cast paving stones of concrete are commonly used to lay out pavements, to define patios, driveways, walkways. When compared to natural stones, pre-cast paving stones are relatively inexpensive to make, and provide numerous advantages. The paving stones are for instance pre-cast with a flat surface, and generally uniform thickness. Accordingly, when they are laid out on compacted ground, an assembly of pre-cast paving stones forms a uniform flat surface. Moreover, the paving stones are usually sized for ergonomic handling.
The challenge in designing a pre-cast paving stone is to make it look like natural stones once laid out. Some paving stones generally have polygonal geometries, which geometry results in the paving stone lay out producing repetitive patterns. In instances, some paving stones have been designed to look like natural stones and consequently may have an irregular contour. However, such stones may be difficult to assemble, by a lack of distinguishable orientation due to their irregular contour. US Patent Application Publication no. 2007/0217865, by Castonguay et al. shows a flagstone having a generally hexagonal shape. Referring to FIG. 4 thereof, an arrangement of flagstone lay-out is illustrated. Due to the repetitive contour formations of the flagstone of Castonguay et al., the assembly of these stones may be difficult as some of the formations look alike. Moreover, the compact shape of these flagstones and relatively straight edges results in their lay-out being repetitive. It is therefore desirable to produce a pre-cast paving stone that can simulate natural flagstone and which is easy to install while having an irregular contour with non-repetitive projections and depressions.
Another disadvantage of the prior art stone is that its contour shape does not lend itself to forming paved areas with outer edges having generally well defined demarcations, such as when laying an assembly of such stones against a straight edge or when constructing pathways with well defined edges.